The Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected alcoholism, which is now considered a contributory cause of death. The appellant qualifies for additional burial benefits based on the Veteran's service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of death has been granted as the Veteran's death resulted from his service-connected alcoholism, which aggravated his pre-existing alcoholism.
- Claimed conditions
- alcoholism, hepatic cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 17, 2017
- Citation
- 1716782
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1716782.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's alcoholism is secondary to his service-connected adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's motion to revise an August 2009 rating decision denying service connection for alcoholism (also claimed as depression) on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE), finding no CUE in the original decision.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of various psychiatric conditions, including substance abuse condition, alcoholism, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and severe depression.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for anxiety and alcoholism, finding that the evidence did not support a link to active duty.
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